All Along Christie Brinkley’s Watchtower

I find it so cool to see our fair area through the eyes of others from time to time. This one, from London’s Times Online, is particularly quippy:

ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER

A 19th-century mansion in the Hamptons, moneyed New Yorkers’ favoured weekend spot, is once more on the market for $30 million, having been offered for $26.5 million a year ago. The sale of the home that has a 50ft watchtower is significant for several reasons. Everyone will have their own favourite in the following list.

The price shows that sentiment in the US prime property market is, as yet, unaffected by fears that equity market turbulence will cut Wall Streeters’ bonuses. It is the home of Christie Brinkley, the enduring supermodel, who presumably found the watchtower useful for spotting paparazzi. The property is called Dulce Domum, evidence that this kind of name, once considered twee, is again fashionable. The description, from the agent Corcoran, proves that estate agents’ hyperbole is alive and well. Even the lawns of this “safe haven of luxuriousness” are “distinguished” and there is “every modern amenity conceivable for a first-class lifestyle”.

If you have read a description more eulogistic than this we would love to hear from you. anne.ashworth@thetimes.co.uk